PhD Studentship in Revolutionizing Aero-engine Testing: A Novel Experimental Technique for Friction Monitoring

Applications are invited for a research studentship in the field of vibration and friction, leading to the award of a PhD degree. The post is supported by a bursary and fees (at the UK student rate of approximately £21,000 net per annum) provided by the Department of Mechanical Engineering under the EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership scheme, and it is open to home students only.  

The research will be conducted in the Tribology Group, one of the largest and most renowned tribology research groups in the world today, collaborating with the government, companies in Europe, USA and Far East, and many universities across the globe. Amongst others, the group focuses on the aviation sector, facing the urgent need to design lighter and more environmentally sustainable aero-engines to target Net Zero goals. Aero-engine manufacturers face the complex challenge of ensuring safety while reducing emissions, a task made daunting by the intricate vibrational behaviour of engine components. Predicting the engine dynamic behaviour is particularly complicated due to the millions of components in contact, whose understanding is limited by a lack of experimental friction data. 

This PhD project aims to develop a new experimental technique, and related theory, to monitor friction contacts during vibration. The technique will be based on the use of metamaterials, emerging artificially-engineered structures with the exceptional capability to manipulate how waves propagate. This capability is leading a multi-billion-dollar technological revolution in several applications, including non-destructive evaluation, which will be exploited here to monitor friction. Friction monitoring based on metamaterials has never been proposed before and is an opportunity for a breakthrough in the fields of tribology and dynamics. By joining this project, you can make a tangible impact on the future of aviation, contributing to safer, cleaner, and more efficient air travel. 

The work is supported by Rolls-Royce plc, whose senior specialists will provide guidance throughout the PhD. Through the company’s extensive global network, the student will establish contacts with industrial colleagues and leading academic groups particularly in the UK, Germany, and the US. The Imperial academic supervisors include Dr Fantetti (Tribology Group), Dr Hooper (Mechanics of Materials Group) and Dr Renson (Dynamics Group). 

You will be an enthusiastic and self-motivated person who meets the academic requirements for enrolment for the PhD degree at Imperial College London. You should hold or expect to obtain a 1st class honours or a high 2:1 degree at Master’s level (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, another branch of relevant engineering, Material, Physics, Chemistry or related science, and willing to start in October 2024 or shortly after.

This PhD is an exciting opportunity for those interested in experiments as well as simulations, ranging topics such structural dynamics, ultrasound and tribology.

To find out more about this research opportunity, watch this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/EVbX5d7OqzM

To find out more about research at Imperial College London in this area, go to:

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mechanical-engineering/research/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/tribology/

Apply online via the above ‘Apply’ button.

For further details of the post contact Dr Fantetti at a.fantetti@imperial.ac.uk. Interested applicants should send an up-to-date curriculum vitae to Dr Fantetti. Suitable candidates will be required to complete an electronic application form at Imperial College London in order for their qualifications to be addressed by College Registry.

Closing date: 04 July 2024

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